Bailey and buttercups

It's interesting to me to see plants and animals in France that are the same or similar to those in the U.S. My favorite wildflower from Virginia were the yellow buttercups that dotted our yard and pasture at this time of year so I was happy to see them on a recent walk at the Citadel this week. Bailey and I were in the same area this morning and there were even more of them. Here are a few pictures from recent walks and a few others as well.

Bluebells are similar to those back in Virginia.

The chestnut trees are in bloom. They seem to be the most common tree around here.

Mallards are the same, here's a momma and 10 ducklings.

Hobbits, elves, or other wee folk also inhabit the forest. The sign on this door, in Dutch, reads "The beauty you see in me is a reflection of you." Google tells me it's a quote from the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi. 

This is a common coot sitting on a nest in one of the small canals around the Citadel. 

A couple days later I returned to find her with her babies, still in the nest.

I see common pigeons like those in the states, but also have seen this, a wood pigeon. 

This photo was taken outside our window, resting on the front gate house, but I've also seen these in the woods as we walk.

This is another female mallard, this one with 12 ducklings. I shall call her Della. 

Henceforth, I will refer to all female ducks as Della the duck.  

Della with her 12 pack. 

Recently turned soil is apparently very fun to run and play in.

This is a symbol I've seen a few places around Lille and also in Paris. It's similar to the anarchist symbol, but not quite the same and it's always in a heart rather than a circle. It's been identified as A2 street art, amour and anarchie, love and anarchy. There's one on a building across the street from us. Not bad as graffiti goes. 

I made my first boeuf bourguignon this week. Turned out very good.

My houseplants are doing well. This African violet came into bloom recently.

The sheep are back, grazing the grassy areas around the Citadel. There are also those ponies plus a couple of horses and a cow or two. 

Trip to Paris

We were in Paris from last Sunday to Wednesday. Bailey was out at her boarding camp and seems to have had a good time. We did mostly museums while in Paris, an evening cruise on the Sienne, and of course, lots of walking. 

Musee de Cluny, museum of the medieval world.

This museum was a grand home built on top of a Roman bathhouse. The collection spans from the Roman era through the middle ages and was quite interesting. It was located just around the block from our hotel and we went there on Sunday afternoon after we arrived. They had a special exhibit featuring they mythology of unicorns and their permanent collection includes four huge tapestries that include unicorns as well.

Part of the Roman baths that was incorporated into the building.

Later Sunday afternoon we walked to the Grand Palais for an exhibit of works from the later years of Henri Matisse. 

The Grand Palais

Above and below, two monumental sculptures on top of the Grand Palais.

In his later years Matisse created his art not by direct painting, but by cutting painted paper and assembling the pieces. He also designed some stained glass windows in the same way.

This one was my favorite.

This was a quote from him that I loved: 

"I hope that however old we live to be, we die young."

Walking around Paris is an experience in itself. Everything seems monumental, the boulevards, green spaces, the public art, and the architecture. And being spring, there were lots of things in bloom.

Chestnut trees

Place de la Concorde (with Napolean's obelisk), and the Arc de Triumph in the background.

Notre Dame at night from the river.

Our evening boat trip Sunday evening was timed to arrive at the Eifel Tower at 9:00 p.m. when the lights sparkle.

Monday morning we went to the L'Orangerie, a museum purpose built to display Monet's water lilies. Monet designed the building, consisting of two oval rooms forming an infinity symbol, with only natural lighting. Photos can not begin to do it justice.

On the lower level of L'Orangerie was an exhibit of works by Henri Rousseau. 

Renoir's "Peaches" was also on display there.

Clay and wisely booked tickets for our museum visits, but we had unscheduled time Monday afternoon. We walked to the Pantheon, a monument to and burial place of many of France's greatest writers, philosophers, and statesmen. It was fascinating and the fact that the most recent internment there was of the man who fought for the abolishment of the death penalty and supporter of gay rights was gratifying.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Madame Curie

This monument was dedicated to unknown writers.

Later Monday after we visited Sainte-Chapelle, the only remaining part of a royal palace built by Louis IX. The stained glass is amazing, but the lower chapel with it's painted ceilings is also amazing.

The upper chapel with all the stained glass was the king's private chapel.

This beautiful space is the lower chapel downstairs for non-nobles.

Tuesday morning we had tickets to the Renoir exhibit at the Musee d'Orsay. It was originally a train station and is a work of art in itself. There were actually two Renoir exhibits, one of paintings and another of his drawings. In addition, the museum's permanent collection of Impressionist art is incredible. 

The picture above of a man and woman dancing and the two below were displayed together in one room for the first time ever. They look like they should always be kept together.

Flowers or fruit, I love still life paintings.

I took pictures of every Degas dancer painting they had.

Seeing so many paintings that I've seen before in books or photos was amazing, but even more so was the breadth of paintings by Impressionist artists that I had never seen. 

In addition to the artwork, the d'Orsay has a collection of art nouveau furniture and furnishings that was incredible. 

We finally left the d'Orsay out of exhaustion not because we had seen it all. We had another museum to hit that day, the former home and museum of Auguste Rodin. He donated the house and the collection to the state to be made into a museum after his death. The donation included his personal art collection as well. 

It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also much easier to get by with English in Paris than it is in Lille, at least in tourist-oriented places. 

This statute of Thomas Jefferson took me by surprise although I knew that he had been ambassador to France at one time. The statue was across the street from the building below, the Legion of Honor, which looks remarkably like Jefferson's Monticello, and the White House.

Great trip, one of many visits to Paris that we plan to take in the future.